Systems and methods for adaptively communicating notices in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to adaptively communicating notices to passengers within a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes in response to receiving a notice about an occurrence of an event, determining a viewing orientation of a passenger in the vehicle according to at least one electronic input that indicates information about a physical position of the passenger within the vehicle. The event is an incident associated with the vehicle for which the passenger is to be informed. The method also includes selecting at least one alerting device from available communication devices in the vehicle according to the viewing orientation by determining which of the available communication devices correspond with the viewing orientation of the passenger. The method further includes controlling the at least one alerting device to communicate the notice to the passenger about the occurrence of the event.

FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates in general to systems forproviding notices and more particularly to systems for providing noticesto passengers of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND

In modern vehicles, there are many systems that provide information tothe passengers. For example, many vehicles include systems that monitorvehicle parameters, like vehicle speed, fuel level, and mileage.Moreover, as additional technologies are integrated with vehiclesavailable information provided to passengers continues to grow.Furthermore, autonomous vehicles may include even more indications thatare provided to passengers. However, when the vehicle is operating in anautonomous mode the passengers, particularly the driver, may becomeeasily distracted or may otherwise not be paying attention to theoperation of the vehicle or its surroundings. For example, the drivermay rotate his seat to face other passengers in a back seat area or maydirect attention to a display that is showing entertainment content.Consequently, difficulties arise with ensuring passengers including thedriver are appropriately notified of various events.

SUMMARY

An example of an indication system for a vehicle that may operate in anautonomous mode is presented herein. The system can provide notices to apassenger of the vehicle as a function of the current position of a seatthat supports the passenger, particularly when the vehicle is in anautonomous mode. This arrangement may be useful, given the possibilitythat a passenger may move the seat to a position that obstructs a viewof a display for the passenger or some other component that is part ofthe primary instrument panel.

In one embodiment, an indication system of a vehicle includes one ormore processors. The indication system also includes a memorycommunicably coupled to the one or more processors. The memory stores anorientation module and a notice module. The orientation module includesinstructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause theone or more processors to, in response to receiving a notice about anoccurrence of an event, determine a viewing orientation of a passengerin the vehicle according to at least one electronic input that indicatesinformation about a physical position of the passenger within thevehicle. The event is an incident associated with the vehicle for whichthe passenger is to be informed. The orientation module further includesinstructions to select at least one alerting device from availablecommunication devices in the vehicle according to the viewingorientation by determining which of the available communication devicescorrespond with the viewing orientation of the passenger. The noticemodule includes instructions that when executed by the one or moreprocessors cause the one or more processors to control the at least onealerting device to communicate the notice to the passenger about theoccurrence of the event.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storesinstructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the oneor more processors to perform various functions. The instructionsinclude instructions to, in response to receiving a notice about anoccurrence of an event, determine a viewing orientation of a passengerin a vehicle according to at least one electronic input that indicatesinformation about a physical position of the passenger within thevehicle. The event is an incident associated with the vehicle for whichthe passenger is to be informed. The instructions further includeinstructions to select at least one alerting device from availablecommunication devices in the vehicle according to the viewingorientation by determining which of the available communication devicescorrespond with the viewing orientation of the passenger. Theinstructions include instructions to control the at least one alertingdevice to communicate the notice to the passenger about the occurrenceof the event.

In one embodiment, a method includes in response to receiving a noticeabout an occurrence of an event, determining a viewing orientation of apassenger in the vehicle according to at least one electronic input thatindicates information about a physical position of the passenger withinthe vehicle. The event is an incident associated with the vehicle forwhich the passenger is to be informed. The method also includesselecting at least one alerting device from available communicationdevices in the vehicle according to the viewing orientation bydetermining which of the available communication devices correspond withthe viewing orientation of the passenger. The method further includescontrolling the at least one alerting device to communicate the noticeto the passenger about the occurrence of the event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate various systems, methods, andother embodiments of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that theillustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or othershapes) in the figures represent one embodiment of the boundaries. Insome embodiments, one element may be designed as multiple elements ormultiple elements may be designed as one element. In some embodiments,an element shown as an internal component of another element may beimplemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore,elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a vehicle within which systems andmethods disclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a forward section of the vehicle ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a cutaway side view of the vehicle ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of the forward section of the vehicleof FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of an indication system associatedwith adaptively communicating notices to passengers of a vehicle.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a vehicle with a seat that is in asubstantially horizontal reclining position.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a seat in a reverse position.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a method associated with adaptivelycommunicating notices to a passenger in a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems, methods and other embodiments associated with adaptivelycommunicating notices to passengers of a vehicle are disclosed herein.As mentioned in the background, because passengers of the vehicle may beinattentive to the operation of the vehicle and also inattentive toother events occurring around the vehicle, notifying the passengersabout various events may be difficult. Accordingly, in one embodiment,the disclosed systems and methods are implemented to facilitateproviding notices to passengers of the vehicle. In one embodiment, thedisclosed systems and methods are implemented within a vehicle thatoperates in an autonomous mode since there is a tendency for passengersof a vehicle operating autonomously to be inattentive.

For example, an indication system uses information from various systemsin the vehicle (e.g., seat position circuitry, mobile connectivitysystems, eye tracking system, and so on) to determine a generalorientation of a passenger. From this information, the indicationsystem, in one embodiment, determines a general viewing direction of thepassenger and/or whether the passenger is inattentive. Thereafter, theindication system selects one or more devices that are within theviewing direction of the passenger or that will otherwise notify thepassenger. For example, the indication system selects from devices, suchas monitors, mobile devices (e.g., smartphones), passenger compartmentlighting, and speakers to communicate notices to the passenger. In otherwords, the indication system determines which device the passenger ismost likely viewing and uses that device to communicate notices. In thisway, the indication system controls the available devices that are bestsuited for providing notices to the passenger to communicate the noticesaccording to a present orientation of the passenger.

Consider the following example. The vehicle is operating in anautonomous mode, and the passenger (i.e., driver) reclines in a seat toa substantially horizontal position. Additionally, the vehicle includesa monitor that is integrated within the roof of the passengercompartment, which the driver uses to view some form of entertainmentwhile reclined. In view of this configuration, in one embodiment, theindication system adaptively directs visual and/or audio notices to themonitor in the roof when the seat is in this reclined position.Furthermore, multiple displays or other user interface elements may bestrategically situated throughout the passenger compartment to alignwith the various possible positions of the seat and/or viewingorientations of the passengers. Consequently, the indication systemadaptively selects devices according to a position of the passenger andprovides notices to the selected devices. In this way, the notices areadaptively communicated to the passengers regardless of their viewingorientation.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a vehicle 100 is illustrated. As usedherein, a “vehicle” is any form of motorized transport. In one or moreimplementations, the vehicle 100 can be an automobile. Whilearrangements will be described herein with respect to automobiles, itwill be understood that embodiments are not limited to automobiles. Insome implementations, the vehicle 100 may be a watercraft, an aircraftor any other form of motorized transport.

In one or more embodiments, the vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle. Asused herein, “autonomous vehicle” refers to a vehicle that operates inan autonomous mode. “Autonomous mode” refers to navigating and/ormaneuvering the vehicle along a travel route using one or more computingsystems to control the vehicle with minimal or no input from a humandriver. Thus, as used herein, passenger can include both adriver/vehicle operator and other passengers of the vehicle 100. In oneor more embodiments, the vehicle 100 is highly automated or completelyautomated. In one embodiment, the vehicle 100 is configured with one ormore semi-autonomous operational modes in which one or more computingsystems perform a portion of the navigation and/or maneuvering of thevehicle along a travel route, and a vehicle operator provides inputs tothe vehicle to perform a portion of the navigation and/or maneuvering ofthe vehicle along a travel route.

Furthermore, the vehicle 100 has, for example, a forward end 101 and arearward end 102. The vehicle 100 also includes various elements. Itwill be understood that it is not necessary for the vehicle 100 to haveall of the elements shown in FIG. 1 or described herein. The vehicle 100can have any combination of the various elements shown in FIG. 1.Further, the vehicle 100 can have additional elements to those shown inFIG. 1. In some arrangements, the vehicle 100 may not include one ormore of the elements shown in FIG. 1. Further, while the variouselements are shown as being located within the vehicle 100 in FIG. 1, itwill be understood that one or more of these elements can be locatedexternal to the vehicle 100. Further, the elements shown may bephysically separated by large distances.

Some of the possible elements of the vehicle 100 are shown in FIG. 1 andwill be described along with subsequent figures. However, a descriptionof many of the elements in FIG. 1 will be provided after the discussionof FIGS. 2-8 for purposes of brevity of this description. Additionally,it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among thedifferent figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Inaddition, the discussion outlines numerous specific details to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. Those ofskill in the art, however, will understand that the embodimentsdescribed herein can be practiced without these specific details. Ineither case, the vehicle 100 includes an indication system 165 that isimplemented to perform methods and other functions as disclosed hereinrelating to adaptively communicating notices to passengers of thevehicle 100. The noted functions and methods will become more apparentwith further discussion of the figures.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example of a portion of the vehicle 100 in adriving operation is shown. In this example, the vehicle 100 is anautomobile that is depicted as traveling along a surface 205, such as aroad or highway, although the surface 205 may be any surface or materialthat is capable of supporting and providing passage to vehicles.Examples include roads, parking lots, highways, interstates, runways,off-road areas, waterways, or railways. In one embodiment, while thevehicle 100 is operating, the vehicle 100 detects events includingoperational hazards, operational notifications, points-of-interest, andother situations relevant to the passengers and operation of the vehicle100.

Examples of the operational hazards include objects in the path of thevehicle 100 along the surface 105 or upcoming changes in theconfiguration of the surface 105. The operational hazards may bedetected while the vehicle 100 is operating in an autonomous mode,semi-autonomous mode, or manual mode. The operational notificationsinclude, for example, impending turns, vehicle speed, fuel level,required maintenance, etc. Examples of the points-of-interest includerestrooms, eateries, hotels, tourist destinations and other useful orinteresting locations. In general, the points-of-interest are, forexample, selected by one or more of the passengers as relevant interestsfor a particular route/trip. Alternatively, in one embodiment, thepoints-of-interest are pre-programmed into the indication system 165 aspoints-of-interest that are relevant to a particular passenger of thevehicle 100.

In either case, the indication system 165 may inform a passenger aboutthe operational hazards, the operational notifications, thepoints-of-interest or other situations through one or more differenttypes of notices. In the example of FIG. 2, a passenger 210 is showndriving the vehicle 100. Accordingly, the passenger 210 may also bereferred to as a driver (i.e., passenger 210) of the vehicle 100,although reference to a passenger or passengers will generally beunderstood to also include the driver for purposes of this description.A view presented in FIG. 2 is similar to that of the passenger 210 thatis directed towards a front windshield 215 of the vehicle 100. As can beseen, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with one or more seats 220 thatmay be used to support the passenger 210 and other passengers (notillustrated).

In one embodiment, the vehicle 100 may include a primary instrumentpanel 225, which displays various user interface (UI) elements to thepassenger 210. For example, the primary instrument panel 225 includesone or more displays 230 that are configured to display notices to thepassenger 210. As another example of a device that may be used by theindication system 165 to display notices, the vehicle 100 includes aheads-up display (HUD) 235. In one embodiment, a HUD projects an image240 onto, in front of, or in some other spatial relationship with thewindshield 215 or some other surface to enable the passenger 210 to seethe image 240 without looking away from the windshield 215. The primaryinstrument panel 225 may also include one or more speakers 245 forbroadcasting audio to the passenger 210 including, for example, notices.The one or more speakers are examples of audio devices 175 of FIG. 1that may be controlled by the indication system 165 to produce audiblenotices. In additional examples, the audio devices 175 include aradio/speaker system of the vehicle 100, speakers integrated with side,rear, and ceiling panels, speakers integrated within mobile devices,speakers integrated within entertainment devices, and so on.

The displays 230 that comprise the primary instrument panel 225 and theHUD 245 are examples of display devices 170 of FIG. 1 that areadaptively selected by the indication system 165 to communicate noticesto the passenger 210. Further examples of the display devices 170 willbe discussed subsequently, however, it should be appreciated that thedisplay devices 170 may include monitors integrated within the primaryinstrument panel 225, within a dashboard, within various side, rear, andceiling/roof panels, and within anterior portions of seats including theseats 220. Furthermore, the display devices 170, in one embodiment, alsoinclude mobile devices, such as, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and soon.

Additionally, the vehicle 100 also includes a passenger compartment 250comprising the seats 220, the primary instrument panel 225, and variousother structures and systems. In some embodiments, the passengercompartment 250 includes one or more side doors (not illustrated) and asection designed to carry rear-seat passengers (not illustrated). Aswill be discussed subsequently in relation to further embodiments,additional displays, lighting and speakers are positioned throughout thepassenger compartment 250.

In FIG. 2, the passenger 210 is illustrated in an operating positionthat may also be referred to as a “conventional” operation position. Inthis position, the passenger 210 is seated substantially upright andwith a viewing orientation that is substantially toward the primaryinstrument panel 225. The driver seat 220 may be slightly inclined,raised or lowered, or moved away from or closer to the primaryinstrument panel 225 and can still maintain the conventional operatingposition for the passenger 210 with the viewing orientation focused onthe primary instrument panel 225. As used herein, viewing orientationgenerally refers to a physical position of the passenger 210 thatinfluences a line-of-sight of the passenger 210. The line-of-sight ofthe passenger generally refers to a direction towards which eyes of thepassenger 210 are naturally directed when in a particular viewingorientation.

As an example, the passenger 210 uses the conventional operatingposition for actively operating the vehicle 100 in a manual mode andwhen transitioning from an autonomous mode to a manual mode. In theconventional operating position, the passenger 210 receives indicationsthrough, for example, the displays 230 of the primary instrument panel,including the HUD 235, and the speaker 245 that are integrated into theprimary instrument panel 225, as these UI elements are within theline-of-sight of the passenger 210 since the passenger 210 is seatedupright and facing toward the primary instrument panel 225. In oneembodiment, the instrument panel 225 and/or other locations within thevehicle 100 include an eye tracking device 180. In further embodiments,the eye tracking device 180 may be separate from the vehicle 100 andinstead integrated with a mobile device. In either case, the eyetracking device 180 operates to, for example, determine theline-of-sight of the passenger by measuring motion of the eyes relativeto the head (either continuously or intermittently). Additionally, theeye tracking device 180 may be a camera that optically tracks the eyesof the passenger 210 or another suitable device.

Referring to FIG. 3, another view of the vehicle 100 is illustrated,primarily directed to the side of the passenger compartment 250. Asshown here, one or more additional displays 230 or HUDs 235 may beincorporated into different sections of the passenger compartment 250.For example, a display 230 may be integrated into support columns orpillars 305 or the roof 310 of the passenger compartment 250. As anotherexample, HUDs 235 may be built into the side panels 315 of the passengercompartment 250 to cause the image 240 to be projected onto, in frontof, or in some other spatial relationship with a side window 320 or someother surface to enable the passenger 210 to see the image 240 withouthaving to look away from the side window 320. Similarly, the speakers245 may be embedded into one or more of the side panels 315 of thepassenger compartment 250. This optional positioning of such UIelements, as will be described more fully below, may be useful toprovide indications to a passenger 210 that has positioned the driverseat 220 out of a conventional operation position while the vehicle 100is in an autonomous mode.

In one arrangement, the driver seat 220 is equipped with a seat-positioncircuit 325, which can include any suitable number and type of circuitryand other components for moving the driver seat 220 to variouspositions. The seat position circuit 325 is one example of a seatposition device 185 as illustrated in FIG. 1. As an example, theseat-position circuit 325 may be configured to move the seat in atranslational manner, such as in a linear motion towards or away fromthe front of the passenger compartment 250. The seat-position circuit325 may also be configured to raise or lower the driver seat 220 or totilt a backrest section 230 of the driver seat 220. In FIG. 2, thedriver seat 220 is shown in a substantially vertical tilt position,which may be slightly positioned away from true vertical to provide thepassenger 210 some comfort while maintaining a conventional seatingposition. In another arrangement, the seat-position circuit 325 may beconfigured to rotate the driver seat 220 substantially around an axis(not shown), which may cause the front surface of the backrest section230 to face away from the front of the passenger compartment 250.

The different movements of the driver seat 220 that the seat-positioncircuit 325 effectuates may be performed serially or simultaneously. Forexample, the seat-position circuit 325 may be configured to move thedriver seat 220 translationally first, completing that movement, andthen rotating the driver seat 220 to the final desired position. As analternative example, the seat-position circuit 325 may be set to carryout the translational and rotational movements of the driver seat 220 atthe same time. Moreover, the seat-position circuit 325 and the driverseat 220 are not limited to the movements described here, and theseat-position circuit 325 may move the driver seat 220 to any number ofpositions. A seat-position circuit 325 may also be integrated with otherseats 220 of the passenger compartment 250 to control the positioning ofthose seats 220.

The passenger 210 (or another passenger) may access a set of controls(not shown) to operate the seat-position circuit 225, such as byactivating one or more buttons or by speaking one or more commands. Whena seat 220 is moved to a position, the seat-position circuit 325 mayelectronically signal another component, such as a processor 110, toinform the indication system 165 of the current positioning of the seat220. Alternatively, the indication system 165 may directly receive theindications from the seat position circuit 325 and/or directly query theseat position circuit 325 about a present position of the seat 220.Furthermore, while the seat position circuit 325 is discussed in thesense of controlling a motor or some other device to move the seat 220automatically, in one embodiment, the seat 220 is moved betweenpositions manually and the seat position circuit 325 provides notice tothe indication system 165 about a present position of the seat 220.

Referring to FIG. 4, another view of the passenger compartment 250 ofthe vehicle 100 is shown. This view is a partial illustration of therear of the passenger compartment 250 in which several rear seats 220are positioned in a rear portion 400 of the compartment 250. In thisexample, a rear display 230 may be attached to and suspended from theroof 310 of the passenger compartment 250. As an example, the reardisplay 230 may be typically embedded within the roof 310 of thepassenger compartment 250 but can be lowered from a storage position inthe roof 310 when the vehicle 100 is operating in an autonomous mode. Itshould be noted, that while the rear display is referred to using thenumeral 230, the rear display and other displays indicate with thenumeral 230 are separate displays within the vehicle 100 that arecategorized as with the display devices 170 of FIG. 1.

Continuing with FIG. 4, when the vehicle 100 transitions to a manualmode, the rear display 230 may be raised again and stowed in a storagelocation to avoid blocking the rear view of the passenger 210. As anoption, any number of speakers 245 may also be positioned in the rearportion 400 of the passenger compartment 250. As another option, a HUD235 may be integrated into the rear portion 400 of the compartment 250for projecting an image 240 (not illustrated) onto a rear window 405 orsome other suitable surface. In either case, if the vehicle 100 isplaced in an autonomous mode and the driver seat 220 is reversed suchthat the front surface of the backrest section 330 (see FIG. 3) isfacing towards the rear window 405, the rear display 230, the rear HUD235, the rear speaker 245, or any combination thereof may provideindications to the passenger 210.

As an additional matter, while not explicitly illustrated the rearportion 400, the side panels 315, the roof 310 and other suitablelocations with the passenger compartment 250, in one embodiment, includeembedded lighting as the display devices 170. That is, the passengercompartment is equipped with LED, incandescent or other suitablelighting that is controllable by the indication system 165 tocommunicate notices to the passenger 210. In one embodiment, theembedded lighting of the passenger compartment 250 is divided intological sections (i.e., left/right, forward/rear, roof/floor) so thatdifferent sections and combinations of sections can be independentlyilluminated to convey different notices. For example, a right side ofthe passenger compartment may be illuminated with a flashing light whenturning right. As another example, the entire passenger compartment maybe illuminated in red when the indication system 165 is providing awarning or handover back to manual mode. In general, the intensity,color, duration of illumination, particular illuminated sections, andother characteristics of the embedded lighting can be selectively variedaccording to particular attributes of a notice that is to becommunicated. In this way, the indication system 165 can convey a myriadof different notices using the embedded lighting of the passengercompartment 250.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of a block diagram of an indicationsystem 500 is illustrated. The indication system 500 is a more detailedview of the indication system 165 of FIG. 1. The indication system 500(also referred to herein as system 500) may be representative of and mayinclude at least some of the components described with reference toFIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 although the system 500 is not necessarily limitedto those components. The description associated with FIG. 5 may expandon some of the components and processes presented in the discussion ofFIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 although the additional explanations here are notmeant to be further limiting.

In one embodiment, the indication system 500 includes an applicationlayer 505, an operating system (OS) 510, one or more libraries 515, akernel 520, a hardware layer 525, and a database layer 530. Theapplication layer 505 may include any number of applications 535, whichmay serve as an interface to enable a passenger 210 (not shown here) tointeract with the system 500 and to execute tasks or features providedby the system 500. In addition, the passenger 210 may provide electronicinputs that launch other processes associated with the vehicle 100through the applications 535. For example, a passenger 210 may providean electronic input to launch an application 535 that enables thevehicle 100 to operate in an autonomous mode, adjust a temperaturesetting of the vehicle 100, or access a digital map associated with aGPS-based system.

In one embodiment, the OS 510 is responsible for overall management andfacilitation of data exchanges and inter-process communications of theindication system 500, as well as various other systems of the vehicle100. The libraries 515, which may or may not be system libraries, mayprovide additional functionality related to the applications 535 andother components and processes of the system 500. The kernel 520 canserve as an abstraction layer for the hardware layer 525, although insome cases, a kernel may not be necessary for the system 500. Otherabstraction layers may also be part of the system 500 to support andfacilitate the interaction of the applications 535 with the lower levelsof the system 500, although they may not necessarily be illustratedhere.

The hardware layer 525 may include various circuit- or mechanical-basedcomponents to facilitate the processes that are described herein. Forexample, the hardware layer 525 may include connections (e.g., data bus,wireless, direct-wired connections) with the displays 230 (i.e., displaydevices 170), the HUDs 235, the speakers 245 (i.e., audio devices 175),one or more communications circuit interfaces 540, one or more memoryunits 545, one or more docking interfaces 550, one or more processors555, one or more event-detection circuits 560, and one or moreseat-position circuits 565 (i.e., Seat Position Device 185), which arerepresentative of the seat-position circuit 325 shown in the otherdrawings. In addition, the database layer 530 may include a suitablenumber of databases 570 that store data, such as in a persistent (e.g.,non-volatile) manner.

The indication system 500 may use the speakers 245 to broadcast relevantaudio, including notices associated with the operation of the vehicle100. This output may supplement the information shown by the displays230 or HUDs 235, or it may be in lieu of the images being displayed. Thespeakers 245 may be integrated with the displays 230 or may be separatecomponents. In addition to providing warnings, the speakers 245 maybroadcast sounds related to other functions of the vehicle 100, such asaudible directions from a guidance system (not shown) or music from astereo system (not shown).

The hardware layer 525 may include any number of communications circuitinterfaces 540, each of which may be configured for conductingcommunications in accordance with a specific frequency (or range offrequencies) and/or one or more particular communication protocols. Forexample, a communications circuit interface 440 may be configured toconduct long-range communications, such as satellite or cellular, orexchange short-range signals, such as those in accordance with theprotocols for Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), or Wi-Fi. Otherprotocols and types of communications may be supported by thecommunications circuit interface 440, as the vehicle 100 is not limitedto these particular examples described here.

The memory unit 545 can be any number of units and type of memory forstoring data. As an example, the memory units 545 may store instructionsand other programs to enable any of the components, devices, and systemsof the indication system 500 to perform their functions. As an example,the memory units 545 can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory.Examples of suitable data stores include RAM (Random Access Memory),flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-OnlyMemory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers,magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitablestorage medium, or any combination thereof. The memory units 545 can bea component of the central processor 455, or the memory units 545 can becommunicatively connected to the processor 555 (and any other suitabledevices) for use thereby. These examples and principles presented herewith respect to the memory units 545 may also apply to any of thedatabases 570 of the database layer 530.

The docking interface 550 may include circuitry for establishingcommunications with a portable computing device (not shown), such as atablet or a smartphone. The communications can be based on wireless orwired connections and (for a wireless coupling) in accordance with anyshort-range protocol, like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In one arrangement,indications may be provided to the passenger 210 or another passengerthrough a portable computing device that is communicatively coupled withthe docking interface 550. In another arrangement, the docking interface550 may include structural elements for receiving and physicallysecuring a portable computing device (not shown), such as a smartphoneor tablet. In some cases, the portable computing device may simply bephysically secured by the docking interface 550 without beingcommunicatively coupled to it. If so, the portable computing device,while secured by the docking interface 550, could be communicativelycoupled to some other device of the vehicle 100, such as thecommunications circuit interface 440.

The processor 555 can be configured to receive input from any number ofsystems of the vehicle 100, including those of the indication system500, and can execute programs or other instructions to process thereceived data. In one embodiment, the processor 555 executesinstructions of one or more modules stored in the memory 545. Forexample, in one embodiment, the memory 545 stores an orientation module565 and a notice module 570. The orientation module 565 and the noticemodule 570 will be discussed in greater detail subsequently; however, itshould be understood that the modules 565 and 570 are generallycomprised of instructions that when executed by the processor 555 causethe processor 555 to perform various functions. The processor 555 mayrequest additional data from other resources and can provide output tothe indication system 500 or other systems of the vehicle 100.

For example, the processor 555 may receive input from the eventdetection circuit 460 of the vehicle 100 and determines that an eventrequires a notice to be provided to, for example, the passenger 210.This determination may be performed while the vehicle 100 is operatingin either an autonomous mode, a semi-autonomous mode, or a manual mode.Examples of such events include hazards in the path of the vehicle 100,like a pedestrian, or operational parameters that should be addressed,such as a low fuel or battery level. In some cases, the detected eventmay cause the processor 555 to generate a signal that indicates ahandover from the autonomous mode to a manual mode. As another example,one of the seat-position circuits 565 may signal the processor 555 toprovide the processor 555 with a current position of the correspondingseat 220. The seat-position circuit 325 may update such information ifthe current position of the seat 220 changes. As will be explained morefully below, based on this information, the processor 555 may select aparticular display 230, HUD 235, speaker 245, any combination of thethree, or some other UI element to provide the passenger 210 or otherpassenger an indication of the detected event.

Any suitable architecture or design may be used for the processor 555.For example, the processor 555 may be implemented with one or moregeneral-purpose and/or one or more special-purpose processors, either ofwhich may include single-core or multi-core architectures. Examples ofsuitable processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digitalsignal processors (DSP), and other circuitry that can execute software.Further examples of suitable processors include, but are not limited to,a central processing unit (CPU), an array processor, a vector processor,a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array(PLA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), andprogrammable logic circuitry. The processor 555 can include at least onehardware circuit (e.g., an integrated circuit) configured to carry outinstructions contained in program code.

In arrangements in which there is a plurality of central processors 555,such processors can work independently from each other or one or moreprocessors can work in combination with each other. In one or morearrangements, the processor 555 can be a main processor of theindication system 500 or the vehicle 100. This description aboutprocessors may apply to any other processor that may be part of anysystem or component described herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example of the driver seat 220 in a recline orside position is illustrated. Here, the passenger 210 may have activatedthe seat-position circuit to cause the backrest section 330 to move to asubstantially horizontal position. In this case, the seat-positioncircuit 325 may move the backrest section 230 in at least a tilt motionto achieve this particular orientation. The substantially horizontalposition is referred to as a recline position. In one embodiment, therecline position may be a position that the seat 220 can achieve out arange of possible positions. In particular, the seat-position circuit325 may move the backrest section 230 to a more or less severe angle incomparison to what is illustrated in FIG. 5. As such, the passenger 210may adjust the seat 220 to any number of positions.

The recline position of FIG. 5 may be referred to as an unconventionaloperating position. An “unconventional operating position” is defined asa position or orientation of a seat during the operation of a vehiclethat substantially obstructs a line-of-sight of the passenger 210 frombeing directed at the primary instrument panel 225 or that substantiallycauses the seat to face away from the instrument panel 225. For example,a seat 220 in an unconventional operating position may result in aviewing orientation of the passenger 210 where the primary instrumentpanel 225 is not within the line-of-sight (also referred to as the fieldof vision) of the passenger 210. In FIG. 6 the line-of-sight isrepresented by the dashed lines emitting from the eyes of the passenger210. As another example, a seat 220 may be considered in anunconventional position based on one or more predetermined angles, suchas whether the backrest section 230 is equal to or more than forty-fivedegrees from true vertical or whether the orientation of the seat 220has been rotated at least or more than ninety degrees with respect tothe front primary instrument panel 225. Thus, in one embodiment, theindication system 500 identifies the position of the seat and determinesthe line-of-sight therefrom.

In comparison, a “conventional operating position” is defined as apositioning or orientation of a seat during the operation of a vehiclethat the seat is a part of and that substantially allows the seatpassenger (or driver) to see the front instrument panel of the vehicleor one or more displays of the front instrument panel or thatsubstantially causes the seat to face towards the instrument panel. Anexample of a conventional operating position for a seat 220 isillustrated in FIG. 2. Like the unconventional operating positionexamples recited above, a conventional operating position may be basedon predetermined angles (e.g., backrest section 230 less than forty-fivedegrees from true vertical or seat 220 rotated less than ninety degreeswith respect to front primary instrument panel 225) or on placingcertain components of the primary instrument panel 225 within the fieldof vision of the passenger 210 (e.g., the display 230 of the primaryinstrument panel 225).

In one arrangement, the seat 220 may be moved to unconventionaloperating positions when the vehicle 100 is in an autonomous mode andnot when in a manual or semi-autonomous mode. Moreover, if the vehicle100 is in an autonomous mode and a transition to the manual or thesemi-autonomous mode is requested, the seat-position circuit 325 may beconfigured to automatically adjust the seat 220 to a conventionaloperating position.

As noted earlier, any number of displays 230 may be incorporated in thepassenger compartment 250. In one case, a display 230 may be placed in acertain location based on the capability of the seat 220 being moved toa position that corresponds to that location. For example, referringonce again to FIG. 6, based on the seat 220 having a capability ofmoving to a recline position, the roof display 230 can be integratedwith the roof 310. Accordingly, when the passenger 210 is in thisviewing orientation, the passenger 210 can have an unimpeded andfavorable view of the roof display 230.

In another example, if the seat 220 is in the orientation shown in FIG.6, the passenger 210 may be lying on his or her side. In this example,the seat 220 may be considered in a side position. Referring to FIGS. 3and 6, in this case, the passenger 210 may be facing a side panel 215,either on the driver or passenger side of the passenger compartment 250.As such, the location of one or more of the side displays 230 or HUDs235 may be set to correspond to this possible orientation of thepassenger 210. In either this example or the one involving the roofdisplay 230, to have a location correspond to a particular positioningthat the seat 220 is capable of achieving means to situate the display230 or other UI element to match approximately one or more predictedviewing angles for that positioning of the seat 220. In another example,the displays 230 or HUDs 235 may include or be attached to structuralcomponents that allow them to be moved by the passenger 210 to improve aviewing experience. Each of these principles may apply to other UIelements, including the speakers 145, which can supplement the visualindication provided by the selected display 230. As another example, ifthere is a possibility that a passenger 210 may be in two or moreorientations for a given position of the seat 220, such as the reclineor side position, the processor 555 may signal any number of displays230 that correspond to the different possible positions. For example,both the roof display 230 and the side displays 230 may be selected toshow the indications.

Thus, the seat position may be used to infer a viewing orientation ofthe passenger 210. However, when further precision is desired, the eyetracking device 180 may be used to obtain additional information aboutwhere the eyes of the passenger are directed. Additionally, forpositions of the seat 220 corresponding to two or more viewingorientations, the orientation module 565 may use additional inputs fromthe eye tracking device 180 to refine the viewing orientation further.

Moreover, as previously referenced, the embedded lighting of thepassenger compartment 225 may be selectively illuminated according to aviewing orientation of the passenger 210. Thus, when the passenger 210is in a reclined position as indicated by the seat position circuit 565,embedded lighting of the roof panel 310 may be illuminated. Similarly,when the passenger is viewing the side panel 315, then the indicationsystem 500 may illuminate embedded lighting of the doors, side panels,and/or floor. Additionally, in one embodiment, when the indicationsystem 500 determines that the passenger 210 is viewing a mobile device(e.g., smartphone) or when a viewing orientation of the passenger 210cannot be determined (e.g., eyes closed or passenger/driver not inseat), then the embedded lighting of the whole passenger compartment maybe controlled to provide the notice.

Referring to FIG. 7, an example of the seat 220 placed in a reverseposition is illustrated. Like the recline or side positions, the reverseposition may be considered to be an unconventional operating position.In this example, the vehicle 100 may be in an autonomous mode, and theseat-position circuit 325 may cause the seat 220 to rotate about an axisto achieve the reverse position. As an option, the passenger 210 mayalso adjust the seat 220 to the recline position, such as through a tiltmotion via the seat-position circuit 205. These different movements maybe carried out simultaneously or successively.

In the reverse position, the seat 220 (and the backrest section 230) mayface away from the front primary instrument panel 225, including thedisplay 230 of that panel 125. Similar to the recline and sidepositions, a display 230, such as the rear display 230, can bepositioned to correspond to the reverse position. If the passenger 210takes an orientation like that pictured in FIG. 6, then the rear display230 may provide a convenient viewing experience for the passenger 210.In addition, if the seat 220 is moved to both a reverse position and arecline or side position, the passenger 210 may focus on the roofdisplay 230, the side displays 230, or images 140 (see FIG. 2) projectedon or near the side windows 220 from a HUD 235 (see FIG. 2). Thedisplays 230 that correspond with the unconventional operating positionsof the seat 220 may be part of a set of displays 230 that are exclusivefrom the front primary instrument panel 225. This set may also includeone or more HUDs 235, speakers 145, or other UI elements that are notpart of or integrated with the front primary instrument panel 225.

As previously noted, indications may also be provided to a portablecomputing device (not shown), such as one that is physically coupled tothe docking interface 550 (see FIG. 5) or in use wirelessly within thevehicle 100. These docking interfaces 550, like the displays 230, may bestrategically positioned in the passenger compartment 250 to place theportable computing device in a location that corresponds to any one ofthe possible positions of the seat 220.

As another option, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with various sensorsto help determine the orientation of the passenger 210 (or anotherpassenger). For example, one or more eye tracking devices 180 can bebuilt into the passenger compartment 250 for determining the positioningof the head or eyes of the passenger 210. As another example, one ormore pressure sensors can be implemented into a seat 220 (e.g.,pressure/weight sensor) to determine the orientation of the passenger210 and/or whether the passenger is sitting in the seat or has moved toanother location in the passenger compartment 250. This informationassociated with the orientation of the passenger 210 may be useful forcertain situations, such as determining whether the seat 220 isconsidered in a recline or side position. Numerous other techniques maybe relied on to help determine the positioning of the passenger 210, nomatter the orientation of the seat 220.

With reference to FIG. 8, one embodiment of a method 800 associated withadaptively providing notices within a vehicle is illustrated. Forpurposes of brevity in this discussion, method 800 will be discussedfrom the perspective of the indication system 500 of FIG. 5. Of course,while method 800 is discussed in combination with the indication system500, it should be appreciated that the method 800 is not limited tobeing implemented within the indication system 500, but is instead oneexample of a system that may implement the method 800.

At 810, the orientation module 565 receives a notice about an occurrenceof an event. In one embodiment, the event detection circuit 560 receivesthe notice in the form of an electronic signal from the processor 110,the sensor system 120, the vehicle system 140, and/or the autonomousdriving module 160. Furthermore, the event detection circuit 560, in oneembodiment, relays the notice to the orientation module 565 so that theorientation module 565 can analyze information about the occurrence toselect an available device from the display devices 170 and/or the audiodevices 175 through which to communicate the notice. In either case, theevent detection circuit 560 and/or the orientation module 565, either inconcert or individually, monitor for the notice in order to initiate themethod 800 upon the occurrence of the event. Furthermore, receiving thenotice is generally understood to include receiving the notice while thevehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode, as previouslydiscussed. However, the indication system 500 and the method 800 mayalso operate to provide notices when the vehicle 100 is operating in thesemi-autonomous mode or the manual mode. In one embodiment, the actionof switching between operating in the semi-autonomous mode or the manualmode to operating in the autonomous mode initiates the method 800, at810 to monitor for the notice.

The notice is, for example, a communication about the occurrence of theevent that is to be provided to the passenger 210 to alert the passenger210 about the occurrence. As previously discussed, the event is anincident associated with the vehicle 100 for which the passenger 210 isto be informed. Accordingly, the event may be an occurrence of theoperational hazards, the operational notifications, passing within aproximity of the points-of-interest, and other situations relevant tothe passengers and operation of the vehicle 100.

At 820, the orientation module 565 determines a viewing orientation ofthe passenger 210. As previously explained, the viewing orientation ofthe passenger 210 refers to a physical position of the passenger 210within the vehicle 100 from which an interior area of the passengercompartment 250 that is likely being viewed by the passenger 210 can beinferred. Thus, the viewing orientation of the passenger 210, in oneembodiment, indicates a line-of-sight/field-of-vision of the passenger210 in relation to interior sections of the passenger compartment 250.In further embodiments, the viewing orientation also indicates a generalattentiveness of the passenger 210. In other words, the viewingorientation may indicate whether eyes of the passenger 210 are open orclosed, whether the passenger 210 is actively engaged in using a mobiledevice, whether the passenger 210 (e.g., driver) is sitting in the seat220, and so on. It is generally envisioned, that various sensors can beintegrated with the vehicle 100 to determine the viewing orientation ofthe passenger 210 to a desired degree. For example, in one embodiment, acomplement of eye tracking devices 180 are integrated into variouslocations of the passenger compartment 250 along with the seat positiondevices 185, seat pressure sensors, and heartbeat monitors, to provide aprecise determination of the viewing orientation of the passenger 210 towithin, for example, a close degree of precision of where the passenger210 is actually viewing.

By contrast, in another embodiment, the vehicle 100 is equipped withjust the seat position device 185 as a means to determine the viewingorientation. A choice of the degree of precision to which the viewingorientation can be determined is, for example, implementation-specificand thus may vary according to different implementations of theindication system 500. However, regardless of the particular sensorsused, the viewing orientation is determined at 820 according to theelectronic inputs.

In one embodiment, the indication system 500 uses electronic inputs fromthe sensors, from state tables (e.g., listing of active mobile devicesin the vehicle 100), and other sources as a basis to determine theviewing orientation. For example, the indication system 500 determinesthe viewing orientation through analyzing the electronic inputs todetermine attributes of the passenger 210 that provide insights aboutthe viewing orientation.

The following examples illustrate how electronic inputs from the seatposition device 185, the eye tracking device 180, and other devices areused to determine the viewing orientation and line-of-sight of thepassenger 210. The following examples are provided as a sample ofpossible correlations and are not intended to be a comprehensivelisting.

For example, when the seat position device 185 indicates that the seat220 is presently in a side position, then the orientation module 565identifies the line-of-sight of the passenger 210 is viewing a sidepanel 315 of the vehicle 100.

In another example, when the seat position device 185 indicates that theseat 220 is presently in a reverse position (see FIG. 7), then theorientation module 565 identifies the line-of-sight of the passenger 210is viewing a rear portion 400 of the vehicle 100.

In another example, when the seat position device 185 indicates that theseat 220 is presently in a recline position (see FIG. 7), then theorientation module 565 identifies the line-of-sight of the passenger 210is viewing a roof panel 310 of the vehicle 100.

In another example, when a seat pressure sensor (not illustrated)indicates that the passenger 210 (i.e., the driver) is not in the seat220, then the orientation module 565 may classify the viewingorientation as indeterminate. In still other examples, input such asactivation of a secondary display, activation of particular contentwithin one of the displays (e.g., entertainment content, video games,and so on) may also be used as inferences that the passenger 210 isinattentive or otherwise not viewing the primary instrument panel 225.

While the foregoing examples generally focus on a position of the seat220 as a primary indicator of where in the passenger compartment 250 thepassenger 210 is presently viewing, in further embodiments, additionalsensors, such as the eye tracking device 180 may be used as the soleelectronic input to determine the viewing orientation or may be used incombination with input from the seat position device 185 to, forexample, refine the determination of the viewing orientation.

Moreover, in one embodiment, the orientation module 565 determineswhether the passenger is engaged with (i.e., presently using/viewing) amobile device to determine the viewing orientation or, in the context ofuse of a mobile device, whether the passenger 210 is generallyinattentive to the primary instrument panel 225 and other ones of thedisplays 230 in the vehicle. In one embodiment, the orientation module565 queries a connection/state table that is, for example, maintained bya wireless access point, the docking interface 550, or another componentof the vehicle 100. In general, the connection/state table is a listingof active devices within the vehicle 100 that may be using an accesspoint of the vehicle to connect wirelessly to the Internet or tointeract with systems of the vehicle 100 itself In either case, theconnection/state table identifies whether any mobile devices arepresently in use.

Alternatively, in one embodiment, the orientation module 565 directlyqueries the mobile devices that are registered or otherwise listed inthe state table to determine whether one or more are presently active.In still further embodiments, the orientation module 565 usesinformation signal strength indicators (SSI) of various mobile devicesand/or access points in the vehicle to triangulate or otherwisegenerally locate the mobile devices within the vehicle 100. Thisinformation, either in isolation or, in combination with other sensorinformation from the vehicle 100 about the passenger 210 is used toprovide a determination of the viewing orientation of the passenger 210.

At 830, the orientation module 565 determines whether the passenger 210is viewing the primary instrument panel 225 of the vehicle 100. In oneembodiment, the orientation module 565 uses the determination from 820to decide whether a different communication device (i.e., the displaydevices 170 and/or the audio devices 175) than the primary instrumentpanel 225 is better suited to notify the passenger 225 because of theviewing orientation of the passenger 210. Consequently, if the viewingorientation of the passenger 210 indicates that the passenger is viewingthe primary instrument panel 225, then, in one embodiment, theindication system 500 proceeds to 850 where the notice module 570communicates the notice using the primary instrument panel 225.

However, if the viewing orientation indicates that the passenger 210 isnot viewing the primary instrument panel 225 because the passenger 210is, for example, generally inattentive (e.g.., eyes closed, not in theseat 220, etc.), in a reclined, side, or reverse position as indicatedby the seat position device 185 or otherwise not viewing the primaryinstrument panel 225 as determined at 820, then the indication system500 proceeds to 840.

At 840, the orientation module 565 selects at least one alerting deviceto use to communicate the notice. In one embodiment, the orientationmodule 565 selects one or more devices to use as the alerting devicefrom available communications devices in the vehicle 100. The availablecommunications devices are, for example, the display devices 170, theaudio devices 175, and/or mobile devices connected to the vehicle 100either through a hardware or wireless connection. Thus, in oneembodiment, the alerting device is an installed or integrated device ofthe vehicle 100.

The orientation module 565 selects from the available devices accordingto the viewing orientation as determined at 820. In one embodiment, theorientation module 565 determines which of the available communicationdevices correspond with the viewing orientation of the passenger 210using, for example, a pre-programmed mapping that identifies which ofthe available communications devices correspond with different viewingorientations within the passenger compartment 250. Accordingly, in oneembodiment, the orientation module 565 uses the viewing orientation asan input value to a lookup table that embodies the pre-programmedmappings. The result of the orientation module 565 performing the lookupis a determination of one or more devices that can be used to providethe notice. In one embodiment, the determination at 840 ranks thedevices according to which are best suited to communicate the notice.Thus, the orientation module 565 may be configured to select the top xnumber of devices as specified according to the ranking and, forexample, preference settings previously configured within the vehicle100.

Additionally, the orientation module 565, in one embodiment, may selecta particular one of the devices (e.g., embedded compartment lighting,and/or speaker) by default when, for example, a determination of theviewing orientation is non-determinative (i.e., unable to identify afocus of the passenger 210) and/or the viewing orientation indicatesthat the passenger 210 is generally inattentive and not focused in aparticular direction. In this way, the orientation module 565 selects atleast one alerting device in place of the primary instrument panel 225when the orientation of the passenger indicates that the line-of-sightof the passenger is oriented to the particular device or at noparticular device. Moreover, in one embodiment, the orientation module565 may select a particular one of the devices that is presentlydisplaying entertainment content (e.g., movies, TV shows, video games,etc.) since a passenger may be more likely to be viewing such content incomparison to a navigation map or radio display.

The following examples provide insights into how determinations ofviewing orientations relate to the selection of alerting devices by theorientation module 565. The following examples are provided as a sampleof possible correlations and are not intended to be a comprehensivelisting.

For example, when the viewing orientation indicates that a line-of-sightof the passenger 210 is directed to view the side panel 315, then theorientation module 565 selects a side display device that is located onthe side panel.

In another example, when the viewing orientation indicates that aline-of-sight of the passenger 210 is directed to view the rear portion400 of the vehicle 100, then the orientation module 565 selects a reardisplay device 230 that is located in the rear portion 400.

In another example, when the viewing orientation indicates that aline-of-sight of the passenger 210 is directed to view the roof panel310 of the vehicle 100, then the orientation module 565 selects a roofdisplay device 230 that is integrated with the roof panel 310 (See FIG.6). In still another example, when the viewing orientation indicatesthat the passenger 210 is inattentive because the passenger 210 is notpresently in the seat 220 or is asleep, then the orientation module 565selects an alerting device in order to direct the notice to otherpassengers of the vehicle 100. That is, the orientation module 565selects, for example, the embedded lighting or a display correspondingwith a seat that is occupied by a passenger. In this way, the notice isdirected to at least one passenger instead of being indicated on theprimary instrument panel 225.

As a further example, when the orientation module 565 determines thatthe passenger 210 is using a mobile device and is thus considered to beinattentive and not focused on the integrated display devices 230 of thevehicle 100, then the orientation module 565 may select one or more ofthe speakers 245 and/or one or more sections of the embedded lighting ofthe passenger compartment 250. In this way, the orientation module 565selects alerting devices that direct the notice throughout the passengercompartment 250 to ensure that irrespective of the viewing orientationof the passenger 210, the notice is stilled effectively communicated.

In a further embodiment, when the orientation module 565 determines thatthe passenger 210 is using a mobile device, the orientation module 565transmits a query to the mobile device to discover whether the passenger210 is actively using the mobile device. In one implementation, theorientation module 565 transmits the query to control an eye trackingdevice, activity monitor or another component of the mobile device todetermine if the passenger 210 is using the mobile device. As a result,the orientation 565 receives a response from the mobile device aboutcurrent activity of the passenger 210 including, for example, a viewingorientation when the mobile device tracks eyes of the passenger 210.Consequently, the orientation module 565 may select the mobile device toprovide the notice, one of the displays 230, the embedded lighting,and/or the speakers 245 depending on how the mobile device responds.

At 850, the notice module 570 controls the at least one alerting deviceselected at 840 to communicate the notice to the passenger 210. Thevarious devices that may be selected to communicate the notice, or atleast the separate classes of devices, each generally provide the noticein a separate way. For example, the display devices 230 present graphicsincluding text, the speakers 245 provide audible sounds that are eithervoice or other noises, the embedded lighting generates different noticesaccording to different color and intensity patterns of light, the mobiledevices may be controlled to provide pop-up notices, and so on.

As previously noted, the exact manner of how the notice module 570controls the respective devices to produce the notice is generallyimplementation specific and depends on, for example, many differentpreferences of the passenger 210 and/or those that implement theindication system 500. In either case, the devices that present thenotices are adaptively selected and controlled by the indication system500 depending on the viewing orientation and other discussed factors.Because the notices are not limited to being provided through a singlestatic location within the vehicle 100 by only a visual means, alikelihood that the passenger 210 receives the notice is improved.

Lastly, as an additional aspect, the notice module 570 may control theseat 220 of the passenger 210 to move into a position in which thepassenger 210 is viewing the primary instrument panel 225 in addition tocontrolling the at least one alerting device. For example, when thenotice relates to an event where control of the vehicle 100 istransitioning from the autonomous mode to the manual mode, the noticemodule 570 also controls the seat 220 to return to a position in whichthe passenger 210 can operate the vehicle 100.

Several examples will now be presented to show the further operation ofthe indication system 500. In one example, the vehicle 100 may beoperating in the autonomous mode, and the passenger 210 may have usedthe seat-position circuit 325 to move the seat to a recline position,like that shown in FIG. 6. Eventually, the event detection circuit 560may signal the processor 555 indicating that an event has been detected,such as a large obstacle blocking the intended path of the vehicle 100.In response, the processor 555 may determine that the passenger 210should be notified of the detected event, particularly if the eventrequires a transition to manual mode or some other action on the part ofthe passenger 210.

The orientation module 565 may determine the current position of theseat 220, based on feedback received from the seat-position circuit 225.In view of this information, the orientation module 565 determines theviewing orientation, selects relevant one of the displays 230 and thenthe notice module 570 controls the relevant display to display thenotice about the detected event. The display 230 that is selected may bea display 230 that corresponds to the current position, such as the roofdisplay 230 if the recline position is the current position of the seat220. Alternatively, a side display 230 or both a side display and theroof display 230 may be selected to show the notice if the currentposition of the seat 220 is the side position. Similarly, if the currentposition of the seat 220 is the reverse position, the orientation module565 may signal the reverse display 230 to show the indication. In any ofthese scenarios, the processor 555 may signal other UI elements, such asa HUD 235, speaker 245, or a docked portable computing device, to showor broadcast the indication based on the detected current positioning ofthe seat 220. Further, the orientation module 565 may rely oninformation collected by one or more sensors to determine or confirm theorientation of the passenger 210 (or another passenger). The orientationmodule 565 may use this data to determine whether to, for example,signal the roof display 230 or the side display 230 when the seat 220 isin the recline (or side) position.

The notice that is provided to the passenger 210 may be in any suitableform, such as the display of any combination of symbols or text thatreflects the detected event. Additionally, any form of audio that isrelated to the detected event may be broadcast from a speaker 245 at aparticular volume, e.g., increased volume for warning notices or normallistening volume for standard notices. Other actions can be taken, suchas the temporary application of the brakes of the vehicle 100 or avibration applied to the seat 220, to alert the passenger 210. Otherinformation, such as parameters or other data associated with theoperation of the vehicle 100, may be provided to the passenger 210through a UI element that has been selected based on the currentposition of the seat 220. A notice or information provided to thepassenger 210 may also include one or more actions that the passenger210 should or is required to take.

If the detected event prompts a transition from the autonomous mode tothe manual mode, the notice module 570 may signal the seat-positioncircuit 325 to return the seat 220 to a conventional operating positionautomatically that causes the seat 220 to face the front primaryinstrument panel 225, if such a repositioning is necessary. If anotherevent is detected later while the seat 220 is in the conventionaloperating position, the notice module 570 may signal the display 230 ofthe front primary instrument panel 225 to show the indication.

FIG. 1 will now be discussed in full detail as an example environmentwithin which the system and methods disclosed herein may operate. Insome instances, the vehicle 100 is configured to switch selectivelybetween an autonomous mode, one or more semi-autonomous operationalmodes, and/or a manual mode. Such switching can be implemented in asuitable manner, now known or later developed. “Manual mode” means thatall of or a majority of the navigation and/or maneuvering of the vehicleis performed according to inputs received from a user (e.g., humandriver). In one or more arrangements, the vehicle 100 can be aconventional vehicle that is configured to operate in only a manualmode.

The vehicle 100 has an associated longitudinal axis 103, which can bethe central axis of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 has an associatedlongitudinal direction 104. “Longitudinal direction” means any directionthat is substantially parallel to and/or co-linear with the longitudinalaxis 103. The vehicle 100 has an associated lateral axis 105, which canbe substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 103. As usedherein, the term “substantially” includes exactly the term it modifiesand slight variations therefrom. Thus, the term “substantiallyperpendicular” means exactly perpendicular and slight variationstherefrom. In this particular example, slight variations therefrom caninclude within normal manufacturing tolerances, within about 10 degreesor less, within about 5 degrees or less, within about 4 degrees or less,within about 3 degrees or less, within about 2 degrees or less, orwithin about 1 degree or less. The vehicle 100 can have an associatedlateral direction 106. “Lateral direction” means any direction that issubstantially parallel to and/or co-linear with the lateral axis 105.

The vehicle 100 can include one or more processors 110 that may besimilar to the processor 555 of FIG. 5. In one or more arrangements, theprocessor(s) 110 can be a main processor of the vehicle 100. Forinstance, the processor(s) 110 can be an electronic control unit (ECU).The vehicle 100 can include one or more data stores 115 for storing oneor more types of data. The data store 115 can include volatile and/ornon-volatile memory. Examples of suitable data stores 115 include RAM(Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM(Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any othersuitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The data store 115can be a component of the processor(s) 110, or the data store 115 can beoperatively connected to the processor(s) 110 for use thereby. The term“operatively connected,” as used throughout this description, caninclude direct or indirect connections, including connections withoutdirect physical contact.

In one or more arrangements, the one or more data stores 115 can includemap data 116. The map data 116 can include maps of one or moregeographic areas. In some instances, the map data 116 can includeinformation or data on roads, traffic control devices, road markings,structures, features, and/or landmarks in the one or more geographicareas. The map data 116 can be in any suitable form. In some instances,the map data 116 can include aerial views of an area. In some instances,the map data 116 can include ground views of an area, including 360degree ground views. The map data 116 can include measurements,dimensions, distances, and/or information for one or more items includedin the map data 116 and/or relative to other items included in the mapdata 116. The map data 116 can include a digital map with informationabout road geometry. The map data 116 can be high quality and/or highlydetailed.

In one or more arrangement, the map data 116 can include one or moreterrain maps 117. The terrain map(s) 117 can include information aboutthe ground, terrain, roads, surfaces, and/or other features of one ormore geographic areas. The terrain map(s) 117 can include elevation datain the one or more geographic areas. The map data 116 can be highquality and/or highly detailed. The terrain map(s) 117 can define one ormore ground surfaces, which can include paved roads, unpaved roads,land, and other things that define a ground surface. The terrain map(s)117 can be high quality and/or highly detailed.

In one or more arrangement, the map data 116 can include one or morestatic obstacle maps 118. The static obstacle map(s) 118 can includeinformation about one or more static obstacles located within one ormore geographic areas. A “static obstacle” is a physical object whoseposition does not change or substantially change over a period of timeand/or whose size does not change or substantially change over a periodof time. Examples of static obstacles include trees, buildings, curbs,fences, railings, medians, utility poles, statues, monuments, signs,benches, furniture, mailboxes, large rocks, hills. The static obstaclescan be objects that extend above ground level. The one or more staticobstacles included in the static obstacle map(s) 118 can have locationdata, size data, dimension data, material data, and/or other dataassociated with it. The static obstacle map(s) 118 can includemeasurements, dimensions, distances, and/or information for one or morestatic obstacles. The static obstacle map(s) 118 can be high qualityand/or highly detailed. The static obstacle map(s) 118 can be updatedcontinuously, periodically, irregularly, or even randomly to reflectadditions, removals, and/or changes within a mapped area.

The one or more data stores 115 can include sensor data 119. In thiscontext, “sensor data” means any information about the sensors that thevehicle 100 is equipped with, including the capabilities, parameters,characteristics, ranges, and other information about such sensors. Aswill be explained below, the vehicle 100 can include a sensor system120. The sensor data 119 can relate to one or more sensors of the sensorsystem 120. As an example, in one or more arrangements, the sensor data119 can include information on one or more LIDAR sensors 124 of thesensor system 120. Such information can include, for example, the numberof outbound sensor signals emitted by the LIDAR or other sensor(s), themaximum working range of one or more of such outbound sensor signals,the arrangement of the outbound sensor signals, the orientation of theoutbound sensor signals, and/or the frequency at which the outboundsensor signals are emitted. Such data can be obtained from any suitablesource, including a sensor manufacturer, the vehicle manufacturer,and/or based on test data, just to name a few possibilities.

In some instances, at least a portion of the map data 116 and/or thesensor data 119 can be located in one or more data stores 115 locatedonboard the vehicle 100. Alternatively, or in addition, at least aportion of the map data 116 and/or the sensor data 119 can be located inone or more data stores 115 that are located remotely from the vehicle100. The map data 116 and/or the sensor data 119 can be obtained by thevehicle 100 from any suitable source, including a sensor manufacturer,the vehicle manufacturer, and/or based on test data, just to name a fewpossibilities.

As noted above, the vehicle 100 can include the sensor system 120. Thesensor system 120 can include one or more sensors. “Sensor” means anydevice, component and/or system that can detect, and/or sense something.The one or more sensors can be configured to detect, and/or sense inreal-time. As used herein, the term “real-time” means a level ofprocessing responsiveness that a user or system senses as sufficientlyimmediate for a particular process or determination to be made, or thatenables the processor to keep up with some external process.

In arrangements in which the sensor system 120 includes a plurality ofsensors, the sensors can work independently from each other.Alternatively, two or more of the sensors can work in combination witheach other. In such case, the two or more sensors can form a sensornetwork. The sensor system 120 and/or the one or more sensors can beoperatively connected to the processor(s) 110, the data store(s) 115,and/or another element of the vehicle 100 (including any of the elementsshown in FIG. 1). The sensor system 120 can acquire data of at least aportion of the external environment of the vehicle 100.

The sensor system 120 can include any suitable type of sensor. Variousexamples of different types of sensors will be described herein.However, it will be understood that the embodiments are not limited tothe particular sensors described.

The sensor system 120 can include one or more vehicle sensors 121. Thevehicle sensor(s) 121 can be configured to detect, determine, assess,monitor, measure, quantify and/or sense information about the vehicle100 itself In one or more arrangements, the vehicle sensor(s) 121 can beconfigured to detect, and/or sense position and orientation changes ofthe vehicle 100, such as, for example, based on inertial acceleration.In one or more arrangements, the vehicle sensor(s) 121 can include oneor more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, an inertial measurementunit (IMU), a dead-reckoning system, a global navigation satellitesystem (GNSS), a global positioning system (GPS), a navigation system147, and /or other suitable sensors. The vehicle sensor(s) 121 can beconfigured to detect, determine, assess, monitor, measure, quantify,and/or sense one or more characteristics of the vehicle 100. In one ormore arrangements, the vehicle sensor(s) 121 can include a speedometer(not shown). The speedometer can determine a current speed of thevehicle 100, or data acquired by the speedometer can be used todetermine a current speed of the vehicle 100.

Alternatively, or in addition, the sensor system 120 can include one ormore environment sensors 122 configured to acquire, and/or sense drivingenvironment data. “Driving environment data” includes and data orinformation about the external environment in which an autonomousvehicle is located or one or more portions thereof. For example, the oneor more environment sensors 122 can be configured to detect, quantifyand/or sense obstacles in at least a portion of the external environmentof the vehicle 100 and/or information/data about such obstacles. Suchobstacles may be stationary objects and/or dynamic objects. The one ormore environment sensors 122 can be configured to detect, measure,quantify and/or sense other things in the external environment of thevehicle 100, such as, for example, lane markers, signs, traffic lights,traffic signs, lane lines, crosswalks, curbs proximate the vehicle 100,off-road objects, etc. In one or more arrangements, the one or moreenvironment sensors 122 can include a global navigation satellite system(GNSS), a global positioning system (GPS), a navigation system (whichcan be the navigation system 147 described below), and /or othersuitable sensors.

Various examples of sensors of the sensor system 120 will be describedherein. The example sensors may be part of the one or more environmentsensors 122 and/or the one or more vehicle sensors 121. However, it willbe understood that the embodiments are not limited to the particularsensors described.

As an example, in one or more arrangements, the sensor system 120 caninclude one or more radar sensors 123. “Radar sensor” means any device,component and/or system that can detect, quantify and/or sense somethingusing at least in part radio signals. The one or more radar sensors 123can be configured to detect, determine, assess, monitor, measure,quantify and/or sense, directly or indirectly, the presence of one ormore obstacles in the external environment of the vehicle 100, theposition of each detected obstacle relative to the vehicle 100, thedistance between each detected obstacle and the vehicle 100 in one ormore directions (e.g. in the longitudinal direction 104, the lateraldirection 106 and/or other direction(s)), the elevation of each detectedobstacle, the speed of each detected obstacle and/or the movement ofeach detected obstacle. The one or more radar sensors 123, or dataobtained thereby, can determine the speed of obstacles in the externalenvironment of the vehicle 100. Three-dimensional coordinate informationcan be associated with the data acquired by the one or more radarsensors 123.

In one or more arrangements, the sensor system 120 can include one ormore LIDAR sensors 124. “LIDAR sensor” means any device, componentand/or system that can detect, determine, assess, monitor, measure,quantify and/or sense obstacles using at least in part lasers. The LIDARsensor can include a laser source and/or laser scanner configured toemit a laser signal and a detector configured to detect reflections ofthe laser signal. The one or more LIDAR sensors 124 can be configured todetect, determine, assess, monitor, measure, quantify and/or sense,directly or indirectly, the presence of one or more obstacles in theexternal environment of the vehicle 100, the position of each detectedobstacle relative to the vehicle 100, the distance between each detectedobstacle and the vehicle 100 in one or more directions (e.g. in thelongitudinal direction 104, the lateral direction 106 and/or otherdirection(s)), the elevation of each detected obstacle, the speed ofeach detected obstacle, and/or the movement of each detected obstacle.

In one or more arrangements, the sensor system 120 can include one ormore sonar sensors 125. “Sonar sensor” means any device, componentand/or system that can detect, determine, quantify and/or sensesomething using at least in part sound waves. The one or more sonarsensors 125 can be configured to detect, determine, assess, monitor,measure, quantify and/or sense, directly or indirectly, the presence ofone or more obstacles in the external environment of the vehicle 100,the position of each detected obstacle relative to the vehicle 100, thedistance between each detected obstacle and the vehicle 100 in one ormore directions (e.g. in the longitudinal direction 104, the lateraldirection 106 and/or other direction(s)), the elevation of each detectedobstacle, the speed of each detected obstacle, and/or the movement ofeach detected obstacle.

The sensor system 120 can include can include one or more cameras 126.“Camera” includes any device(s), component(s), and/or system(s) that isconfigured to capture visual data. “Visual data” includes video and/orimage information/data. The visual data can be in any suitable form. Inone or more arrangements, one or more of the cameras 126 can beoriented, positioned, configured, operable, and/or arranged to capturevisual data from at least a portion of the external environment of thevehicle 100. Visual data acquired by the one or more cameras 126 can beused to detect, determine, assess, monitor, measure, quantify and/orsense, directly or indirectly, the presence of one or more obstacles inthe external environment of the vehicle 100, the position of eachdetected obstacle relative to the vehicle 100, the distance between eachdetected obstacle and the vehicle 100 in one or more directions, theelevation of each detected obstacle, the speed of each detectedobstacle, and/or the movement of each detected obstacle.

The one or more cameras 126 can be high-resolution cameras. The highresolution can refer to the pixel resolution, the spatial resolution,spectral resolution, temporal resolution and/or radiometric resolution.In one or more arrangements, the one or more cameras 126 can be highdynamic range (HDR) cameras or infrared (IR) cameras. The one or morecameras 126 can capture visual data in any suitable wavelength on theelectromagnetic spectrum.

The sensor system 120, the processor(s) 110, and/or one or more otherelements of the vehicle 100 can be operable to control movements of oneor more of the sensors of the sensor system 120. It should be noted thatany of the sensors described herein can be provided in any suitablelocation with respect to the vehicle 100. For instance, one or moresensors can be located within the vehicle 100, one or more sensors canbe located on the exterior of the vehicle 100, and/or one or moresensors can be located so as to be exposed to the exterior of thevehicle 100.

The sensor system 120 can include one or more ranging sensors. “Rangingsensors” include sensors that can detect, quantify and/or senseobstacles from a distance and do not require physical contact with theobstacle. The various environment sensors 122 described above areexamples of ranging sensors. Alternatively, or in addition to one ormore of the above examples, one or more sensors can be configured todetect, quantify and/or sense the location of the vehicle 100 and/or thelocation of obstacles in the environment relative to the vehicle 100.Any suitable sensor can be used for such purposes. Such sensors may workindependently and/or in combination with a positioning system of thevehicle 100.

It should be noted that the environment sensors 122 can send outboundsensor signals into the external environment of the vehicle 100 and canreceive return sensor signals, which may reflect off of obstacleslocated in the external environment. Differences between the outboundsensor signals and their corresponding return sensor signals, as well asother information, can be used for detection purposes in any suitablemanner, now known or later developed. A general description of theoperation of a LIDAR sensor 124 is shown in FIG. 2. However, it will beunderstood that the description is applicable to other environmentsensors 122.

The vehicle 100 can include an input system 130. An “input system”includes any device, component, system, element or arrangement or groupsthereof that enable information/data to be entered into a machine. Theinput system 130 can receive an input from a vehicle passenger (e.g. adriver or a passenger). Any suitable input system 130 can be used,including, for example, a keypad, display, touch screen, multi-touchscreen, button, joystick, mouse, trackball, microphone and/orcombinations thereof.

The vehicle 100 can include an output system 135. An “output system”includes any device, component, system, element or arrangement or groupsthereof that enable information/data to be presented to a vehiclepassenger (e.g. a person, a vehicle passenger, etc.). The output system135 can present information/data to a vehicle passenger. The outputsystem 135 can include a display. Alternatively, or in addition, theoutput system 135 may include a microphone, earphone, and/or speaker.Some components of the vehicle 100 may serve as both a component of theinput system 130 and a component of the output system 135.

The vehicle 100 can include one or more modules, at least some of whichwill be described herein. The modules can be implemented as computerreadable program code that, when executed by a processor, implement oneor more of the various processes described herein. One or more of themodules can be a component of the processor(s) 110, or one or more ofthe modules can be executed on and/or distributed among other processingsystems to which the processor(s) 110 is operatively connected. Themodules can include instructions (e.g., program logic) executable by oneor more processor(s) 110. Alternatively, or in addition, one or moredata store 115 may contain such instructions.

In one or more arrangements, one or more of the modules described hereincan include artificial or computational intelligence elements, e.g.,neural network, fuzzy logic or other machine learning algorithms.Further, in one or more arrangements, one or more of the modules can bedistributed among a plurality of the modules described herein. In one ormore arrangements, two or more of the modules described herein can becombined into a single module.

The vehicle 100 can include one or more autonomous driving modules 160.The autonomous driving module(s) 160 can be configured to receive datafrom the sensor system 120 and/or any other type of system capable ofcapturing information relating to the vehicle 100 and/or the externalenvironment of the vehicle 100. In one or more arrangements, theautonomous driving module(s) 160 can use such data to generate one ormore driving scene models. The autonomous driving module(s) 160 candetermine position and velocity of the vehicle 100. The autonomousdriving module(s) 160 can determine the location of obstacles,obstacles, or other environmental features including traffic signs,trees, shrubs, neighboring vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

The autonomous driving module(s) 160 can be configured to receive,capture, and/or determine location information for obstacles within theexternal environment of the vehicle 100 for use by the processor(s) 110,and/or one or more of the modules described herein to estimate positionand orientation of the vehicle 100, vehicle position in globalcoordinates based on signals from a plurality of satellites, or anyother data and/or signals that could be used to determine the currentstate of the vehicle 100 or determine the position of the vehicle 100 inrespect to its environment for use in either creating a map ordetermining the position of the vehicle 100 in respect to map data.

The autonomous driving module(s) 160 can be configured to determinetravel path(s), current autonomous driving maneuvers for the vehicle100, future autonomous driving maneuvers and/or modifications to currentautonomous driving maneuvers based on data acquired by the sensor system120, driving scene models, and/or data from any other suitable source.“Driving maneuver” means one or more actions that affect the movement ofa vehicle. Examples of driving maneuvers include: accelerating,decelerating, braking, turning, moving in a lateral direction of thevehicle 100, changing travel lanes, merging into a travel lane, and/orreversing, just to name a few possibilities. The autonomous drivingmodule(s) 160 can be configured can be configured to implementdetermined driving maneuvers. The autonomous driving module(s) 160 cancause, directly or indirectly, such autonomous driving maneuvers to beimplemented. As used herein, “cause” or “causing” means to make, force,compel, direct, command, instruct, and/or enable an event or action tooccur or at least be in a state where such event or action may occur,either in a direct or indirect manner. The autonomous driving module(s)160 can be configured to execute various vehicle functions and/or totransmit data to, receive data from, interact with, and/or control thevehicle 100 or one or more systems thereof (e.g. one or more of vehiclesystems 140).

Detailed embodiments are disclosed herein. However, it is to beunderstood that the disclosed embodiments are intended only as examples.Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for theclaims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the artto variously employ the aspects herein in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandabledescription of possible implementations. Various embodiments are shownin FIGS. 1-8, but the embodiments are not limited to the illustratedstructure or application.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or blockdiagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, whichcomprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved.

The systems, components and/or processes described above can be realizedin hardware or a combination of hardware and software and can berealized in a centralized fashion in one processing system or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected processing systems. Any kind of processing system oranother apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described hereinis suited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be aprocessing system with computer-usable program code that, when beingloaded and executed, controls the processing system such that it carriesout the methods described herein. The systems, components and/orprocesses also can be embedded in a computer-readable storage, such as acomputer program product or other data programs storage device, readableby a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable bythe machine to perform methods and processes described herein. Theseelements also can be embedded in an application product which comprisesall the features enabling the implementation of the methods describedherein and, which when loaded in a processing system, is able to carryout these methods.

Furthermore, arrangements described herein may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable mediahaving computer-readable program code embodied, e.g., stored, thereon.Any combination of one or more computer-readable media may be utilized.The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium ora computer-readable storage medium. The phrase “computer-readablestorage medium” means a non-transitory storage medium. Acomputer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable storage medium would include the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), adigital versatile disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magneticstorage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In thecontext of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be anytangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber, cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations foraspects of the present arrangements may be written in any combination ofone or more programming languages, including an object orientedprogramming language such as Java™ Smalltalk, C++ or the like andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

The terms “a” and “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more thanone. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or morethan two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least asecond or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein,are defined as comprising (i.e. open language). The phrase “at least oneof . . . and . . . ” as used herein refers to and encompasses any andall possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.As an example, the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” includes A only,B only, C only, or any combination thereof (e.g. AB, AC, BC or ABC).

Aspects herein can be embodied in other forms without departing from thespirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should bemade to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope hereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An indication system of a vehicle, comprising:one or more processors; a memory communicably coupled to the one or moreprocessors and storing: an orientation module including instructionsthat when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or moreprocessors to, in response to receiving a notice about an occurrence ofan event, determine a viewing orientation of a passenger in the vehicleaccording to at least one electronic input that indicates informationabout a physical position of the passenger within the vehicle, andwherein the event is an incident associated with the vehicle for whichthe passenger is to be informed, wherein the orientation module furtherincludes instructions to select at least one alerting device fromavailable communication devices in the vehicle according to the viewingorientation by determining which of the available communication devicescorrespond with the viewing orientation of the passenger; and a noticemodule including instructions that when executed by the one or moreprocessors cause the one or more processors to control the at least onealerting device to communicate the notice to the passenger about theoccurrence of the event.
 2. The indication system of claim 1, whereinthe orientation module further includes instructions to determine theviewing orientation of the passenger by identifying whether thepassenger is viewing a primary instrument panel of the vehicle includinganalyzing the at least one electronic input to determine a line-of-sightof the passenger, wherein the electronic input specifies informationfrom a seat circuit that indicates a seat position for a seat of thepassenger, and wherein the orientation module further includesinstructions to select the at least one alerting device by selecting theat least one alerting device in place of the primary instrument panelwhen the orientation of the passenger indicates that the line-of-sightof the passenger is engaged with the at least one alerting deviceinstead of the primary instrument panel.
 3. The indication system ofclaim 2, wherein the orientation module further includes instructions todetermine the viewing orientation of the passenger by: (i) determiningthat the line-of-sight of the passenger is oriented to view a side panelof the vehicle when the seat circuit indicates a side position for theseat, (ii) determining that the line-of-sight of the passenger isoriented to view a rear panel of the vehicle when the seat circuitindicates a reverse position of the seat, and (iii) determining that thepassenger is oriented to view a roof panel of the vehicle when the seatcircuit indicates a recline position of the seat.
 4. The indicationsystem of claim 3, wherein the orientation module further includesinstructions to select the at least one alerting device according to theviewing orientation by: (i) selecting the at least one alerting deviceto be a side display device that is located within a proximity of theside panel when the passenger is oriented to view the side panel, (ii)selecting the at least one alerting device to be a rear display devicethat is located within a proximity of a rear portion of the vehicle whenthe passenger is oriented to view the rear panel, and (iii) selectingthe at least one alerting device to be a roof display device that islocated in the roof panel when the passenger is oriented to view theroof panel, and wherein the at least one alerting device is an installeddevice that is integrated with the vehicle.
 5. The indication system ofclaim 1, wherein the orientation module further includes instructions toselect the at least one alerting device by selecting embedded lightingof a passenger compartment of the vehicle when the viewing orientationindicates that the line-of-sight of the passenger is oriented away fromthe primary instrument panel.
 6. The indication system of claim 5,wherein the embedded lighting is located in separately controllablesections throughout the passenger compartment, wherein the notice modulefurther includes instructions to control the at least one alertingdevice by selectively lighting one or more of the sections of theembedded lighting to indicate the notice to the passenger andselectively varying a color and intensity of the one or more of thesections according to attributes of the notice, and wherein theelectronic input specifies information from an eye tracking device thatindicates a present viewing area of the passenger in addition toinformation from a seat circuit to refine a determination of the presentviewing area.
 7. The indication system of claim 1, wherein theorientation module further includes instructions to determine theviewing orientation of the passenger by determining that the passengeris using a mobile device when the at least one electronic inputidentifies that the mobile device is in active use, wherein the noticemodule further includes instructions to control the at least onealerting device by controlling the mobile device to display the noticewhen the viewing orientation indicates that the mobile device is inactive use, and wherein the orientation module further includesinstructions to determine the viewing orientation of the passenger bydetermining that the passenger is viewing one of the communicationdevices that is displaying entertainment content.
 8. The indicationsystem of claim 2, wherein the orientation module further includesinstructions to select the at least one alerting device by selecting anaudio device when the viewing orientation indicates that the passengeris inattentive to the available communication devices within the vehicleas determined from the present viewing area of the passenger, whereinthe notice module further includes instructions to control the at leastone alerting device to communicate the notice when the at least onealerting device is the audio device by controlling the audio device toproduce audible sounds that alert the passenger to the notice, andwherein the audio device includes speakers that are positioned in thevehicle according to positions to which the seat is configured to move.9. The indication system of claim 1, wherein the orientation modulefurther includes instructions to receive the notice by receiving thenotice while the vehicle is operating in an autonomous mode thatincludes the vehicle self-driving without receiving direct control inputfrom a driver that is the passenger, and wherein the notice modulefurther includes instructions to control the at least one alertingdevice by controlling a seat of the passenger to move into a position inwhich the passenger is viewing a primary instrument panel of the vehiclewhen the notice is associated with a handover from the autonomous modeto a manual mode in which the passenger is to control the vehicle.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that whenexecuted by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:in response to receiving a notice about an occurrence of an event,determine a viewing orientation of a passenger in a vehicle according toat least one electronic input that indicates information about aphysical position of the passenger within the vehicle, and wherein theevent is an incident associated with the vehicle for which the passengeris to be informed; select at least one alerting device from availablecommunication devices in the vehicle according to the viewingorientation by determining which of the available communication devicescorrespond with the viewing orientation of the passenger; and controlthe at least one alerting device to communicate the notice to thepassenger about the occurrence of the event.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to causethe one or more processors to determine the viewing orientation of thepassenger include instructions to identify whether the passenger isviewing a primary instrument panel of the vehicle by analyzing the atleast one electronic input to determine a line-of-sight of thepassenger, wherein the electronic input specifies information from aseat circuit that indicates a seat position for a seat of the passenger,and wherein the instructions to cause the one or more processors toselect the at least one alerting device includes instructions to selectthe at least one alerting device in place of the primary instrumentpanel when the orientation of the passenger indicates that theline-of-sight of the passenger is engaged with the at least one alertingdevice instead of the primary instrument panel.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions to causethe one or more processors to determine the viewing orientation of thepassenger include instructions to: (i) determine that the line-of-sightof the passenger is oriented to view a side panel of the vehicle whenthe seat circuit indicates a side position for the seat, (ii) determinethat the line-of-sight of the passenger is oriented to view a rear panelof the vehicle when the seat circuit indicates a reverse position of theseat, and (iii) determine that the passenger is oriented to view a roofpanel of the vehicle when the seat circuit indicates a recline positionof the seat, and wherein the instructions to cause the one or moreprocessors to select the at least one alerting device according to theviewing orientation include instructions to: (i) select the at least onealerting device to be a side display device that is located on the sidepanel when the passenger is oriented to view the side panel, (ii) selectthe at least one alerting device to be a rear display device that islocated in a rear portion of the vehicle when the passenger is orientedto view the rear panel, and (iii) select the at least one alertingdevice to be a roof display device that is located in the roof panelwhen the passenger is oriented to view the roof panel.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theinstructions to cause the one or more processors to determine theviewing orientation of the passenger include instructions to determinethat the passenger is using a mobile device when the at least oneelectronic input identifies that the mobile device is in active use,wherein the instructions to cause the one or more processors to controlthe at least one alerting device include instructions to control themobile device to display the notice when the mobile device is in activeuse, wherein the instructions to cause the one or more processors toselect the at least one alerting device include instructions to selectan audio device when the viewing orientation indicates that thepassenger is inattentive to the available communication devices withinthe vehicle, and wherein the instructions to cause the one or moreprocessors to control the at least one alerting device to communicatethe notice when the at least one alerting device is the audio deviceinclude instructions to control the audio device to produce audiblesounds that alert the passenger to the notice.
 14. A method of providingnotifications within a vehicle, comprising: in response to receiving anotice about an occurrence of an event, determining a viewingorientation of a passenger in the vehicle according to at least oneelectronic input that indicates information about a physical position ofthe passenger within the vehicle, and wherein the event is an incidentassociated with the vehicle for which the passenger is to be informed;selecting at least one alerting device from available communicationdevices in the vehicle according to the viewing orientation bydetermining which of the available communication devices correspond withthe viewing orientation of the passenger; and controlling the at leastone alerting device to communicate the notice to the passenger about theoccurrence of the event.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein determiningthe viewing orientation of the passenger includes identifying whetherthe passenger is viewing a primary instrument panel of the vehicle byanalyzing the at least one electronic input to determine a line-of-sightof the passenger, wherein the electronic input specifies informationfrom a seat circuit that indicates a seat position for a seat of thepassenger, and wherein selecting the at least one alerting deviceincludes selecting the at least one alerting device in place of theprimary instrument panel when the orientation of the passenger indicatesthat the line-of-sight of the passenger is engaged with the at least onealerting device instead of the primary instrument panel.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein determining the viewing orientation of thepassenger includes: (i) determining that the line-of-sight of thepassenger is oriented to view a side panel of the vehicle when the seatcircuit indicates a side position for the seat, (ii) determining thatthe line-of-sight of the passenger is oriented to view a rear panel ofthe vehicle when the seat circuit indicates a reverse position of theseat, and (iii) determining that the passenger is oriented to view aroof panel of the vehicle when the seat circuit indicates a reclineposition of the seat, and wherein selecting the at least one alertingdevice according to the viewing orientation includes: (i) selecting theat least one alerting device to be a side display device that is locatedon the side panel when the passenger is oriented to view the side panel,(ii) selecting the at least one alerting device to be a rear displaydevice that is located in a rear portion of the vehicle when thepassenger is oriented to view the rear panel, and (iii) selecting the atleast one alerting device to be a roof display device that is located inthe roof panel when the passenger is oriented to view the roof panel.17. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the at least one alertingdevice includes selecting embedded lighting of a passenger compartmentof the vehicle when the viewing orientation indicates that theline-of-sight of the passenger is oriented away from the primaryinstrument panel, and wherein the embedded lighting is located inseparately controllable sections throughout the passenger compartment,wherein controlling the at least one alerting device includesselectively lighting one or more of the sections of the embeddedlighting to indicate the notice to the passenger and selectively varyinga color and intensity of the one or more of the sections according toattributes of the notice, and wherein the electronic input specifiesinformation from an eye tracking device that indicates a present viewingarea of the passenger in addition to information from a seat circuit torefine a determination of the present viewing area.
 18. The method ofclaim 14, wherein determining the viewing orientation of the passengerincludes determining that the passenger is using a mobile device whenthe at least one electronic input identifies that the mobile device isin active use, and wherein controlling the at least one alerting deviceincludes controlling the mobile device to display the notice when themobile device is in active use.
 19. The method of claim 14, whereinselecting the at least one alerting device includes selecting an audiodevice when the viewing orientation indicates that the passenger isinattentive to the available communication devices within the vehicle,and wherein controlling the at least one alerting device to communicatethe notice when the at least one alerting device is the audio deviceincludes controlling the audio device to produce audible sounds thatalert the passenger to the notice.
 20. The method of claim 14, whereinreceiving the notice includes receiving the notice while the vehicle isoperating in an autonomous mode that includes the vehicle self-drivingwithout receiving direct control input from a driver that is thepassenger, and wherein controlling the at least one alerting deviceincludes controlling a seat of the passenger to move into a position inwhich the passenger is viewing a primary instrument panel of the vehiclewhen the notice is associated with a handover from the autonomous modeto a manual mode in which the passenger is to control the vehicle.